KNOW THE OPPONENT: Frisco Legacy will turn to running back for offense

Frisco Legacy Christian has made a state championship game run and on Friday it looks to run away with the TAPPS Division III State Championship when it takes on the Shiner St. Paul Cardinals (9-3).

The Eagles (11-2) will rely on the legs of senior running back Ovie Urevbu.

"They have some other players, but they seem to build around him," said St. Paul head coach Jake Wachsmuth. "He's a good football player."

This season Urevbu has rushed for 2,266 yards and 26 touchdowns on 265 carries.

The 6-foot, 190-pound senior has taken his game up a notch in the TAPPS playoffs.

After averaging 165 yards and 18 carries per game in the regular season, Urevbu's carries have gone up to 30 per game and he is averaging 205 yards in the postseason.

"As long as we can stop the running back, we've pretty much got it," said St. Paul running back Adam Hollenbach.

Eagles quarterback Adam Beck is a fairly mobile threat. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior has completed 54 percent of his passes for 1,329 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 626 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Beck has thrown enough to force teams to respect his arm and has accumulated at least 110 passing yards in the last five games.

Expect to see the St. Paul defense take some swipes at Beck given the fact that he has fumbled 10 times this season.

Defensively, Legacy Christian's staple is pressuring the quarterback.

Although St. Paul's Dakota Kresta isn't free to fling the ball anymore since the team is no longer running the spread, the Eagles will try to make him uncomfortable when the occasion calls for a pass.

Legacy Christian averages three sacks per game.

The Eagles aren't afraid to bring pressure from the secondary as sophomore defensive back Caleb Palmer leads the team with seven sacks while defensive ends Zach Snider, DJ Nelson and inside linebacker Michael Pahl have six sacks apiece.